Nashik, March 23 Two more cases have been registered in Maharashtra's Nashik district against self-proclaimed religious leader Ashok Kharat, who was arrested on March 18 after a woman accused him of repeated rape over a period of three years, a police official said on Monday.
The new cases are related to his alleged sexual exploitation of a woman who was seven months pregnant, as well as another woman, under the pretext of arranging her remarriage, the official informed.
"The pregnant woman was raped by Kharat in his Canada Corner office between November 2023 and December 2025 after promising to perform rituals so that she would have healthy children. A case was registered on her complaint under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act," the official said.
The second case is based on the complaint of a woman who said she and her family first met Kharat in 2013 to arrange her marriage, the official said.
"Even after the complainant got married, Kharat continued to exploit her. After her marriage ended, Kharat contacted her claiming he could arrange her remarriage. He continued to rape her. She lodged a complaint on March 21. In all, three cases have been registered against Kharat at the Sarkarwada police station," the official said.
Police investigation has found that Kharat used to frighten people with a 20-foot long remote-controlled fake snake and fake tiger skin, and also cheat them by buying tamarind seeds for Rs 100 per kilogram and selling them as gemstones for Rs 10,000 after getting them polished, the official said.
Sources said an employee of Kharat had fixed CCTV cameras in his office to catch him red-handed, adding that this person later handed over the evidence he had gathered against the self-proclaimed religious leader to the police. The police have seized CCTV DVRs from Kharat's Mirgaon farmhouse, Tikde Colony bungalow and Canada Corner office as part of the investigation.
A video has gone viral of Kharat repeating the Nashik police's slogan "Nashik district, bastion of law" in a weak voice when he was brought for interrogation on Sunday.
Speaking in the assembly on Monday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the police acted proactively in arresting Kharat, and asserted that more victims are expected to come forward as confidence in the investigation grows.
